Of the great festivities which took place in Mexico on account of the peace which was concluded between our emperor and the king of France; and of Cortes' second journey to Spain.
Of the great festivities which took place in Mexico on account of the peace which was concluded between our emperor and the king of France; and of Cortes' second journey to Spain.
In the year 1538 intelligence arrived from Spain that our emperor, of glorious memory, had repaired to France, and was most splendidly received by the French monarch in the harbour of Aigues-Mortes. Here the two monarchs met, embraced each other most affectionately, and concluded a treaty of peace.[53]At this interview, which was celebrated by various festivities, there was also present queen Eleanor, the mother of the French king, and sister to our emperor.
In order to celebrate this happy event, the viceroy of New Spain, Mendoza, the marquis del Valle, the royal auditors, and several of the most distinguished Conquistadores gave splendid feasts. By this time Cortes and the viceroy had become good friends again, after having been for a length of time at variance with each other respecting the number of Indians belonging to his marquisate, and on account of the favour which the viceroy showed Nuño de Guzman. As far as I am able to judge, such splendid tournaments, sham fights, masquerades, bull fights, and public rejoicings, were never seen in Spain as took place in Mexico on this occasion. Similar festivities were celebrated as in ancient Rome, when a consul or a victorious general made a triumphal entry into the city; and all these rejoicings were superintended by a Roman cavalier, named Luis de Leon, who was said to be a descendant of some ancient patrician family of Rome.
When all these festivities were ended, Cortes ordered the necessary preparations to be made for his departure, and he invited me to accompany him, promising to obtain for me from the council of the Indies a grant of more lucrative townships than would be conferred upon me by the royal court of audience in Mexico. I accordingly embarked for Spain, and arrived there a couple of months before Cortes, who said he had been detained by a bad leg, and because he had not so soon been able to collect the quantity of gold he was desirous of taking with him on this voyage. It was in the year 1540 that Cortes thus, for the second time, arrived in Spain; and as the empress Isabella, of glorious memory, died in the month of May of the preceding year, the whole of Spain was still in deep mourning for her; and I, in my capacity of regidor of the town of Guacasualco, and as the oldest of the Conquistadores, had likewise put on deep mourning on arriving at the imperial court.
At this same time Hernando Pizarro, with his suite, consisting of above forty persons, all in deep mourning, likewise arrived in Madrid, where the court was then staying. Cortes and his suite arrived in the city almost at the same moment, was splendidly received by order of the council of the Indies, and took up his abode with the comendador Juan de Castilla. Upon the whole he was treated with the utmost respect, for whenever he went to attend the sittings of the council of the Indies, one of the auditors was sent to meet him at the door, and a seat was given him on the same bench with the president and the auditors.
Cortes never afterwards visited New Spain, for notwithstanding the admiral of Castile, the duke of Bejar, the comendador-mayor of Leon, and Doña Maria de Mendoza used all their influence with his majesty, he never could obtain leave to repair thither again. Each time these distinguished personages solicited the emperor, his majesty answered, "That all the investigations against Cortes must first be brought to an issue before he could grant him permission to return." Yet no one seemed to stir in the matter, and the council of the Indies would not say anything until his majesty should have returned from Flanders, whither he was gone to punish the town of Ghent. Neither was Nuño de Guzman allowed to return to New Spain, and though he was condemned in a heavy fine, he was allowed to retain possession of his commendaries in the province of Xalisco; and he likewise, with his suite, went about the town of Madrid clad in deep mourning. And as Cortes, Pizarro, Guzman, and several other personages of New Spain and Peru, were continually before the eyes of the public, we were derisively dubbed the mourning Indians of Peru. It was no joke, however, for Pizarro, for he was shortly after imprisoned in the Mota of Medina.
I myself returned to New Spain, and the first thing I heard on my arrival there was, that an insurrection had broken out among the mountain tribes of Cochitlan, in the province of Xalisco, to quell which the viceroy had despatched thither several officers, among whom was a certain Christobal Oñate. The Indians, however, defended themselves so courageously that the civic authorities of Mexico applied for assistance to Alvarado, who was at that time busily occupied in fitting out an extensive armament in Guatimala, destined for China; yet Alvarado readily consented to render the assistance required, and set out by forced marches for Cochitlan with a large body of troops. In this campaign he met with a fatal accident, which I will relate in a following chapter. I have now to speak of two armaments which left New Spain, one fitted out by the viceroy, the other by Alvarado.
How the viceroy sends out a squadron of three vessels into the South sea to the assistance of Francisco Vasquez Coronado, in the conquest of Cibola.[54]
How the viceroy sends out a squadron of three vessels into the South sea to the assistance of Francisco Vasquez Coronado, in the conquest of Cibola.[54]
I have already mentioned in a former chapter that the viceroy and the royal auditors had sent out an armament for the discovery of the seven towns, which are also termed the towns of Cibola. A certain cavalier of Salamanca, called Francisco Vasquez Coronado, who was governor of the province of Xalisco, and was married to the beautiful and virtuous daughter of the treasurer Estrada, had marched out as captain-general with a strong body of horse and foot, in order further to explore the country. Having appointed a certain Oñate to govern in his absence, he took his route overland, and arrived, in the space of a few months, among the so-termed seven towns. Whether he had despatched thither the Franciscan monk, father Marcos de Nizza, in advance, or whether both arrived there at the same time, I am unable to say; however, when they came into the country of Cibola they found to their surprise the meadows abounding with cows and bulls, though different in shape to ours in Spain; the houses of the towns were several stories high, and were ascended by regular steps. The father seeing all this considered it well worth his while to return to Mexico and inform the viceroy of the country they had discovered, that he might send thither an armament of some extent. This the viceroy accordingly did, and he sent out three vessels under the chief command of Hernando Alcaron, one of the officers of his household, who was accompanied by Marcos Ruiz de Rojas, of Madrid, and a certain Maldonado, as second in command. I ought to mention that all I have related respecting the discovery of this country I have from hearsay.
Of a very extensive armament which was fitted out by Alvarado in the year 1537.
Of a very extensive armament which was fitted out by Alvarado in the year 1537.
Here I must not pass by in silence the vast armament which Alvarado fitted out in the year 1537, in the harbour of Acaxatla, lying on the coast of the South Sea, in the province of Guatimala, of which he was then governor.
This expedition was fitted out according to an agreement he had entered into with the crown during his stay in Spain, by which he bound himself down to fit out a certain number of vessels at his own expense, for the express purpose of discovering some western passage to China, the Moluccas, or to other of the Spice islands. In consideration of which he was promised a certain portion of the lands he should discover, or of the annual rents that should arise from them; however, as I never saw this agreement myself, I am unable to give any further particulars about it.
Alvarado, who had always proved himself a most faithful servant to his majesty, both during the conquest of New Spain and in the campaigns of Peru, and, with his four brothers, had taken every opportunity to promote the interests of the crown, was desirous on this occasion to surpass every armament which Cortes had fitted out before him. He therefore equipped thirteen vessels of considerable burden, all well provided with ammunition, provisions, and water, and care was taken to select the best sailors and the most experienced pilots. As the harbour where he built these vessels lay above 800 miles from Vera Cruz, all the ironwork and the greater part of the building materials had to be transported thither from the latter port by land; and all this proved so expensive to him, that he might have built eighty vessels of the same size at Seville for an equal sum of money. He not only spent in fitting out this armament all the riches he had brought with him from Peru, and all the gold he could collect from his mines in Guatimala and other possessions, but he borrowed large sums of money, besides that he purchased quantities of goods on credit. To all of which was added the large sums of money he had to pay the captains of the vessels, the officers, and the troops, which amounted to 650 men; further, the purchase of horses, the best of which cost him 300 pesos a piece, and the inferior ones from 150 to 200 pesos; and lastly, the cost of a considerable store of ammunition and powder. In short, the sums of money he laid out were beyond conception. By this expedition he not only thought to render his majesty distinguished services, but he also hoped to reach China, the Moluccas, or the Spice islands, by a western passage, and either to make conquests there, or at least to open a trade between these countries and the province of which he was governor; he was therefore determined to stake both his life and the whole of his property in the enterprise.
The armament being at length fully equipped, Alvarado took the chief command himself, as captain-general, and ordered the imperial flags to be hoisted. The number of troops he had on board amounted to 650men, including 200 horse, and after attending mass he set sail in the year 1538, but I forget in which month. He first of all shaped his course for the harbour de la Purificacion, in the province of Xalisco, where he took a further supply of water and provisions on board, besides a few additional troops.
When the viceroy received intelligence that so vast an armament had been fitted out at such a distance from Vera Cruz and Mexico, he was filled with utter astonishment. He consulted the most experienced pilots and cosmographers, and learnt from them, but particularly from his relative Villalobos, who was a very skilful geographer and navigator, that it was every way possible to reach China by sailing due west from the new world. This created a great desire in him to share the expenses of the expedition with Alvarado; for which purpose he first made the latter a proposal by letter, and then despatched to him his major-domo Agostino Guerrero and Don Luis de Castilla, to settle the terms of an agreement. In consequence of this proposal an interview took place between the viceroy and Alvarado in the township of Chiribitio, lying in the province of Mechoacan, a commendary belonging to Juan de Alvarado. Here both these distinguished personages inspected the armament, and then travelled in company to Mexico, in order to select an officer as captain-general of the whole expedition. Alvarado was desirous of appointing his relative Juan de Alvarado, of Guatimala, who, however, must not be confounded with the person of the same name just mentioned; but the viceroy's choice fell upon his relative Villalobos. Alvarado himself had been obliged to relinquish all thoughts of taking the chief command himself, as the affairs of his own province required his immediate presence there; nevertheless, he was desirous of being present at the departure of the armament, for which purpose he journeyed overland to the harbour of Natividad, where all the vessels lay in readiness, and only awaited his commands for setting sail.
Just as he was about to issue these commands, he received a letter from Christobal de Oñate, whom, as I have above stated, Vasquez Coronado, during his absence in Cibola, had appointed governor of Xalisco. In this letter Oñate stated that he was threatened on all sides by large bodies of Indians, who had, in particular, taken up a strong position on the mountains of Chochitlan, and had killed a considerable number of his troops; and that, if he did not receive immediate assistance, he must be cut off, with the whole of his men. In short, Oñate drew so dreadful a picture of the posture of affairs, that the whole of New Spain itself seemed to be threatened with destruction, if the Indians could march down victorious from their strong position on the heights.Alvarado, on receiving this intelligence, hastened with a large body of troops to Oñate's assistance, whom he indeed found in so perilous a position, that if this timely help had not come, the Indians would very shortly have mastered his small body of troops. After Alvarado's arrival the enemy did not repeat their attacks so often, yet they fought with great courage each time the combat was renewed. It was in one of these engagements between the rocky mountains that a horse stumbled, and rolled headlong down a steep declivity. Alvarado, who happened to be ascending the same height, was unable to get out of the way of the rolling horse, which carried him down, and lay upon him, when both reached the bottom, so that his body was bruised all over, and he found himself very ill. However, the bruises he had received were not considered dangerous, and he was conveyed in a sedan to the neighbouring town de la Purificacion for medical aid, but on his way thither he had frequent swoons, and scarcely a few days elapsed before he rendered up his spirit to God, after he had partaken of the holy communion, and made his confession. Some persons even maintained that he left a will, but nothing was ever seen of it.
This excellent cavalier would, no doubt, have survived, if he had not been carried to the town in the weak state he was in, but had been promptly attended by a surgeon on the spot where the accident took place. However, it was thus ordained by the Lord, whose will be praised, and may God have mercy on his soul. Alvarado was buried with every possible splendour in the town where he breathed his last. Subsequently, I heard that Juan de Alvarado carried his earthly remains to Chiribitio, where they were again entombed with the greatest funeral pomp, many alms were distributed, and several masses were ordered for the repose of his soul.
When intelligence of Alvarado's death reached the fleet and the head-quarters of Cochitlan, there being no one there to take the chief command, a number of the troops dispersed with the money they had received in advance. The consternation which this sad news created in Mexico was very great, particularly as the viceroy, after Alvarado's decease, was desired to send immediate assistance to Xalisco; but as he was unable to leave himself just then, he despatched the licentiate Maldonado thither with as large a body of men as could be assembled in the hurry of the moment; though subsequently he marched in person against the Indians, and completely subdued them, after protracted and fatiguing campaigns.
When the news of Alvarado's death reached Guatimala, the grief of his family knew no bounds; and his wife, Doña Beatriz de la Cueva,with whom he had lived on the most affectionate terms, cried incessantly, and she and all the ladies of her household cut off their hair. His death was also a severe blow to his lovely daughter, his sons, and his son-in-law Don Francisco de la Cueva, on whom Alvarado had conferred the government of Guatimala during his absence. Every one of the Conquistadores of this province deeply lamented his death, and put on mourning for him. The bishop Don Francisco Marroquin was likewise deeply affected at the sad news, and performed a solemn mass for the dead, assisted by the whole body of the clergy, and ordered daily prayers to be offered up for the repose of his soul. Alvarado's major-domo, to show his excessive grief, had even plastered all the walls of his house with a species of black bitumen, which stuck so fast, that it could never after be taken off again.
Several cavaliers waited upon the disconsolate widow to condole with her, and begged of her to moderate her grief, and humbly to resign herself to the will of God. This, as a good Christian, she promised to do; but as women are unable to moderate their grief for the loss of those they have loved, she said she was tired of life, and longed to quit this vale of sorrows. I have merely mentioned this circumstance because Gomara, in his Chronicles, puts the following blasphemous words into her mouth: "That the Lord Jesus could not have visited her with a severer calamity;" and he maintains that it was owing to her having given utterance to this that the town of Guatimala was shortly after visited by so direful a calamity; for the volcano, which lies about two miles from the town, during a violent storm, suddenly vomited huge masses of stone and clouds of ashes, succeeded by a deluge of water, from the bursting of the crater, by which a great part of the town where the widow of Alvarado resided was totally destroyed, and she herself, with several of her ladies, drowned. However, this lady certainly gave utterance to nothing more than what I have mentioned above, and what Gomara states is an invention of his own: and if it pleased the Lord Jesus to call her away from this earth, it is not for mortal man to scrutinise the mysterious decrees of heaven.
With respect to this dreadful tempest and earthquake, I will give the particulars in another place. I cannot help mentioning with regret, that, notwithstanding the many important services which Alvarado and his five brothers, as also the other Alvarados, had rendered to the crown, the sons and daughters of the first-mentioned retained none of the townships comprehended in his commendary, and that the fact of his having subdued the whole province was never even taken into consideration, and it was no longer borne in mind that he accompaniedthe expedition under Grijalva, and was present in all the campaigns of Cortes. The manner in which he himself, his wife, his children, and his brothers lost their lives, is altogether remarkable. Alvarado himself, as we have seen, met with his death in the expedition against Cochitlan; his brother Jorge, who fought in some of the campaigns of Mexico and those of Guatimala, died in Madrid in the year 1540, whither he had gone to solicit his majesty for some remuneration for the services he had rendered the crown; Gomez was killed in Peru; Gonzalo died in Guaxaca or Mexico; and Juan, who was a natural brother, ended his life at Cuba, whither he had journeyed to look over some property he possessed in this island. The eldest of Alvarado's sons, named Don Pedro, repaired, with his uncle Juan the younger, to Spain, to represent to his majesty the many valuable services his father had rendered to the crown; but neither of them were ever after heard of, and they must either have been lost at sea or taken prisoners by the Moors. His second son, Don Diego, finding that all his father's property was gone, returned to Peru, where he lost his life in battle. With respect to Alvarado's widow, I have above stated how she perished, with several of the ladies of her household, during a fearful tempest. And thus, unfortunately, did Alvarado die, at a distance from his wife and daughters, whom he loved with so much affection; and the wife without her husband, for whom she cherished the dearest remembrance! One of the sons, in his journey to Spain, was never heard of again, and the second was killed in Peru. May they become glorified with the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
A short time ago two tombs were constructed near the altar of the principal church of Guatimala, in one of which the remains of Alvarado are to be deposited, which were taken to Chiribitio; and in the other Don Francisco de la Cueva and his wife, Doña Leonora, Alvarado's daughter, have expressed a wish to be buried, when it shall please the Almighty to call them from this earthly life.
In order to return to the armament which Alvarado had fitted out, I must not omit to mention that the viceroy a year after ordered the best of the vessels to be selected, and these he sent out to sea, under the command of his relative Villalobos, with instructions to sail in a westerly direction, in search of China; but as I never heard how this expedition terminated, I will say nothing further about it; though one thing is certain, the heirs of Alvarado never derived any advantages from it, and the whole of the vast sums which Alvarado had expended in fitting out this armament were for ever lost to the family.
We must now see what Cortes is doing in Spain.
What befel the marquis del Valle on his second visit to Spain.
What befel the marquis del Valle on his second visit to Spain.
When the emperor, after punishing the town of Ghent, fitted out the large fleet to besiege Algiers, the marquis del Valle, with his eldest son, likewise entered the service, and he also took along with him his natural son Don Martin Cortes, whom he had by Doña Marina, besides several pages, servants, and horses, and embarked in a fine galley, with Don Enrique Enriquez. However, as the whole of this fleet, by the mysterious destiny of heaven, was cast away in a violent storm, the galley in which Cortes had embarked was also dashed to pieces, and he, with his son and most of the other cavaliers, narrowly escaped with their lives. During the universal disorder which reigned at the moment, when every one saw death before his eyes, Cortes, according to the assurances of his servants, had tied up his splendid jewels in a kerchief, and fastened them tight to his arm; for it was customary for persons of distinction to take their jewels with them; but he unfortunately lost them in the rush every one made to save his own life; which indeed must have been a loss to him of several thousands of pesos.
After this great destruction of men and vessels, the principal officers, who formed the royal council of war, advised his majesty to relinquish all idea of besieging Algiers, and to withdraw to Bugia, as it would be fruitless to make any attempts on the former place at present. When Cortes, who had been purposely excluded from the council of war, learnt this, he declared, that if his majesty would leave the matter to him, he would, with the assistance of God, and the good fortune which had ever attended his majesty's troops, very soon take the town of Algiers, even with the few remaining forces: and as one word led to another, he launched out into the praise of his officers and companions in arms, who had formed the siege of Mexico with him, and he declared that we thought nothing of hunger and hardships; that we had proved ourselves heroes on every occasion; and though we had many times been covered with wounds, and ready to sink with fatigue, yet we used to continue the conflict, and took every town and fortress that came in our way.
As many cavaliers were present when Cortes uttered this, they did not fail to acquaint his majesty with it, expressing their regret at the same time that Cortes had not sat in the council, nor did they omit to mention that the latter himself felt hurt at his having been excluded. Other cavaliers, however, openly avowed that he had been purposelyexcluded, because it was well to be foreseen he would have opposed the general opinion of the council, and have given his voice for prosecuting the siege. After the destruction which had been caused by the tempest, they continued, advice was scarcely needed, for all that could be done was to save the life of his majesty, and of so many distinguished cavaliers who had accompanied him on this expedition. With the assistance of God, they concluded, the expedition against Algiers might be renewed on some future occasion: and thus it was resolved the troops should return to Spain.
After the miserable termination of this perilous expedition, Cortes grew wearied of any longer stay at court; and as old age was growing upon him, and he was beginning to feel the effects of the many hardships and fatigues he had endured through life, his greatest desire was to obtain permission from the emperor to return to New Spain. To all this may be added, the breaking off of the marriage which was to have taken place between his daughter Doña Maria and Don Alvaro Perez Osorio, heir to the marquisate of Astorga, to whom Cortes had promised, as a marriage gift, above 100,000 golden ducats, besides other valuable matters. Doña Maria had expressly arrived in Seville from Mexico, at her father's desire, that the marriage might be consummated, and he was consequently much hurt and annoyed when the match was broken off. The fault, it appears, lay with the bridegroom; and certain it is this matter caused so much annoyance to Cortes that it brought on a severe fever, accompanied by dysentery. Finding that his sickness was growing upon him, he left the town of Seville, and retired to Castilleja de la Cuesta to enjoy more repose. Here he ordered all his affairs, made his last will, and was called away from this world of troubles on the 2d of September, 1547, after receiving the holy sacrament and extreme unction. He was buried with every pomp and magnificence in the chapel containing the sepultures of the dukes of Medina Sidonia, and he was followed to the grave by a large body of the clergy and a number of cavaliers. Subsequently his remains were taken to New Spain, and interred, according to a desire expressed in his last will, either in Cojohuacan or Tezcuco,[55]I forget which.
The following is what I know respecting Cortes' age. When we first set out with him for New Spain from Cuba, in the year 1519, we often heard him say in the course of conversation, that he was thirty-four years of age, and from this day until the day of his death twenty-eight years had elapsed, which will bring his age to sixty-two.[56]
The following were the children he left behind him born in lawful wedlock: the present marquis Don Martin; Doña Maria, who was tohave been married to Don Perez Osorio, but who afterwards married the earl of Luna de Leon; Doña Juana, the wife of Don Hernando Enriquez, heir to the marquisate of Tarifa; and Doña Catalina de Arellano, who died in Seville. Besides these there was another daughter of Cortes, named Doña Leonor, who was married to a wealthy gentleman of Biscay, living in Mexico, named Juan de Toloso, who possessed lucrative silver mines. When the present marquis del Valle arrived in New Spain, he greatly disapproved of this match.
Besides these children, Cortes had two sons and three daughters born out of wedlock. One of these sons, named Don Martin, was a comendador of Santiago, whom he had by the interpretress Doña Marina. The other son, Don Luis, was also a comendador of Santiago, whom he had by a certain Hermosilla. Of these daughters one was named Pizarro, after her mother, an Indian woman of Cuba; the other was born of a Mexican woman.[57]Cortes had, during his lifetime, richly provided for these daughters, and had bestowed lucrative townships upon them; among others, that of Chinanta. There is no doubt he also remembered them in his will, for he was a man of deep penetration and had sufficient time in his latter days to order all his affairs in a proper manner, he would naturally not omit to fulfil anything that might tend to lighten his conscience. In this way, like a good Christian, he also left a fund for erecting an hospital in Mexico, and a cloister in Cojohuacan, where he desired his remains might be interred; besides this, he left large sums for other pious purposes. However, in order not to go too much into detail I will say nothing further on this head, indeed I have forgotten many circumstances relative to his bequests.
Cortes' armorial bearings and their motto bespoke his great valour, and were suitable emblems of his heroic deeds. The motto was in Latin, but as I am no Latin scholar I will not attempt to explain its meaning. His escutcheon bore the seven heads, chained, of monarchs whom he had conquered. These I believe, and have heard others say, represent the monarchs Motecusuma of Mexico, Cacamatzin of Tezcuco, Cuitlahuatzin of Iztapalapan; the kings of Tlacupa and Cojohuacan, and a powerful cazique of the province of Tulapa, near Matlaltzinco, who was nephew to Motecusuma, and the nearest heir to the throne of Mexico. The last was Quauhtemoctzin, who fought the terrible battles with us during the siege of Mexico.
I must now say a few words with respect to Cortes' outward person. He was of good stature, his limbs well proportioned and strongly knit together, but his complexion was rather of an ash-coloured grey, nor was there much cheerfulness in his look; and if his countenance had beensomewhat larger it would have been more handsome. His eyes, generally speaking, had a remarkably sweet expression, but he could also look very grave. The hair of his beard, like that of his head, was black, but not very thick. His chest was well developed, his shoulders broad, his legs were rather bowed, but his ankles and feet were well proportioned. He had very littleembonpoint, and was rather lean. He was a capital horseman, remarkably expert in all martial exercises, both as a foot and cavalry soldier; but what was more than this he was uncommonly courageous and never shrunk back from any danger. In his younger days, while living at Hispaniola, he had frequent adventures about women, and often fought with the most expert swordsmen for the possession of some fair one, and always carried off the palm of victory. On one of these occasions he was wounded beneath the underlip, the scar of which was visible through his beard. His bearing, his gait, his conversation, his behaviour during dinner-time, and the taste he showed in his dress, all bespoke the cavalier of distinction and good breeding. He always dressed according to the fashion of the day; wore very little silk, satins, or expensive damasks; but the whole of his garments were plain and very neat. He never bedizened himself with heavy gold chains, but always had the same one, which was of exquisite workmanship, and had attached to it a kind of trinket, having on one side the image of the blessed virgin, holding her heavenly Son in her arms; on the other that of St. John the Baptist, with a Latin inscription. On one of his fingers he wore a valuable ring set with a most splendid diamond. To his velvet cap was fastened a medal, with a bust in relief and some name, but I have forgotten what it was, as latterly he used to wear nothing but cloth caps, without any medal.
The style in which he lived was that of a person of high distinction. At the head of his household stood two maestresalas and two mayor-domos; he had many pages to wait upon him, and everything was served up in gold and silver. He always made a good dinner, and drank about a pint of wine diluted with water. He also took suppers; but all his dishes were plain, excepting on particular occasions, when, indeed, no expense was spared. He was always affable to us officers and his companions in arms, particularly to those who joined him in the first instance at Cuba. He was a good Latin scholar, and whenever he was in conversation with men of learning he always spoke that language; indeed, I have heard say, he was a bachelor of laws. He was also fond of poetry, and composed several pretty pieces himself, and wrote good prose. His manner of speaking was calm and hissentences were well chosen, and his manner of arguing was remarkably convincing. When he rose in the morning he prayed from his breviary, and he attended mass every day with fervent devotion. For his tutelar saint he had chosen the blessed Virgin Mary, whom, indeed, every faithful Christian ought to look up to as his protectress and holy guardian. He also held in particular veneration St. Peter, St. Jacob, and St. John the Baptist, and was liberal in bestowing alms. His oath was, Upon my conscience! And whenever he was annoyed with any of us soldiers who were upon more intimate terms with him, he used to say, May the plague take you! When he was in a passion, a vein in his forehead and neck distended considerably; and when excessively annoyed with any one, he flung down his cloak: yet he never made use of any low or unbecoming expression to his officers or soldiers. He bore everything with great patience, and though sometimes the soldiers were very inconsiderate in their behaviour, yet Cortes never forgot himself in wrathful expressions towards them, and all he said was, Hold your tongue! or, In the name of God, be gone, and for the future be more guarded in your language, for you might have to pay dearly in repeating such conduct. If he had once made up his mind to anything, he was not to be dissuaded from it, particularly in matters relating to war; and we might argue with him as we liked on the inconsiderateness of any command he might issue, it was all to no purpose,—we were obliged to act up to it, whatever the cost might be. This was frequently the case on our expeditions to the large townships which lay on the lake of Mexico, and in our attacks upon those mountains which are now known by the name of the Marquis mountains. On the latter occasion it was in vain for us to represent to him that it would be impossible to storm the rocky heights against the huge masses of stone which were rolled down upon us; that all our courage and experience would be of no avail, and that we should all run the risk of being crushed to pieces. Our words were spoken to the wind; we were ordered to ascend and peril our lives in the attempt to scale the rugged heights. The consequence was, a complete failure; ten or twelve men were killed on the spot, and the whole of us covered with wounds. On our expedition to the Honduras, after Christobal de Oli had rebelled, I repeatedly proposed to him that we should march over the mountains; but he obstinately maintained that the route along the coast was preferable, nor would he ever believe when I told him that the country through which I proposed to march was everywhere inhabited: yet those who are at all acquainted with these parts know that there is a straight road leading from Guacasualco over Chiapa andGuatimala to Naco, where Oli had fixed his head-quarters. But then I must also say that Cortes was always the first to put his hand to any laborious work we had to do. This he fully showed when we constructed the fortifications of Vera Cruz, for he himself was the first to take spade in hand and dig out the earth for laying the foundations. In every battle that was fought I always found him in the midst of the ranks. As early as in the battle of Tabasco, where he courageously headed the cavalry, he showed what kind of officer he was; the excellent example which he set during the construction of the fortress of Vera Cruz I have just mentioned. Then we must remember what great determination he showed when his brave officers and soldiers counselled him to run the thirteen vessels on shore; and not, as Gomara would have it, without consulting us. In the three battles which we fought with the warriors of Tlascalla he proved himself the most courageous of commanders. And then how daring it was to march into the city of Mexico with only 400 men, and to seize a monarch like Motecusuma in his own palace, surrounded by so many thousands of his warriors! It is certainly true he had good officers and soldiers to counsel him, yet it was an astonishingly bold step on his part when he ordered Motecusuma's generals, who had killed Juan de Escalante with seven of his men, to be burned at the stake in front of the monarch's own palace. And then what a remarkably bold and hazardous undertaking it was first of all to lead Narvaez and his 1300 well-armed troops by the nose with a few small presents, and afterwards, with only 266 men, merely armed with pikes and swords, to attack, completely overthrow them, and take the commander himself prisoner! He displayed wonderful feats of courage in our attack upon the great temple of Huitzilopochtli, before our disastrous flight from the city, though certainly neither his courage nor ours, as it unfortunately turned out, was of any avail. Shortly upon this, at the memorable battle of Otumpan, where the flower of the Mexican army was drawn up against us to put us all to the sword, it was Cortes who made the first run at the Mexican general-in-chief who carried the imperial standard, and threw him to the ground, and in an instant the courage of the enemy began to flag; though it must be borne in mind he was courageously assisted by his brave officers Alvarado, Sandoval, Oli, Ordas, Dominiguez, Lares, and Tapia, besides other officers and soldiers who had no horses, but whose names I will not mention: even several of Narvaez's men fought bravely on this occasion. It was, however, Juan de Salamanca, of Ontiveros, who gave the Mexican general the finishing stroke, and tore away the splendid penache from his head, which he presented to Cortes. How dangerouswas not our position in Iztapalapan? Near Xochimilco the Mexicans had already dragged him from his horse; and had it not been for our Tlascallan auxiliaries, and the brave Christobal de Olea, of Old Castile, he would have been carried off by the enemy. In that unfortunate combat on the causeway, where sixty-two of our men were taken prisoners and sacrificed to the Mexican gods, the enemy had already laid hands on our general and wounded him in the foot; but in that perilous moment it again pleased the Almighty that Olea should come up to his rescue, assist him on horseback, and thus save him from a horrible death. But, alas! this heroic deed cost Olea his own life; and now even, while I am writing this, the figure and powerful build of Christobal de Olea comes fresh to my memory, and my heart feels sore with grief, for we were both born in the same spot, and he was a relative of my relations. I will not, however, relate the further heroic deeds of the marquis del Valle, for they are so numerous and astonishing that I should not so soon get to the end of them. I will now show a few of his peculiarities.
He was excessively fond of gambling at cards and dice, but he never lost his temper in playing, and he delighted in using those quaint expressions customary with gamblers. Nothing could exceed his vigilance during war, and in the night-time he would make the rounds himself, and visit the different outposts. He would visit the hut of every soldier, see that his weapons were ready at hand, and that he had his shoes on. Those whom he found had neglected anything in this way he severely reprimanded, and compared them to mangy sheep whose own wool is too heavy for them. During our expedition to the Honduras, he had a peculiar infirmity about him which I never observed previously, which was, that if he could not get some little nap after dinner he became so ill that he vomited up everything he had eaten. We therefore took the precaution as soon as he had dined to spread a carpet for him beneath some tree or elsewhere in the shade, on which he took a short repose; it mattered not whether it was oppressively hot, or that the rain came down in torrents, it made no difference to him. During the conquest of New Spain he was very thin, and had scarcely anyembonpoint; but after our return from the Honduras he became excessively fat and big-bellied. When his beard was beginning to grow grey, he used to dye it black. In New Spain and on his first return to Castile he was uncommonly generous; but on his second return thither in the year 1540, he was considered very miserly, and one of his servants, named Ulloa, actually brought an action against him for non-payment of wages. If we consider his life after the conquest ofNew Spain, we shall find that it was full of troubles and sorrows. The armaments which he fitted out cost him immense sums of money, from which he never derived any advantage. Both his expedition to the Honduras and to California proved very unsatisfactory. I hope, however, that he may meet with his reward in heaven, and I have every reason to think he will, because he was an honest cavalier, and a devoted reverer of the blessed Virgin, of the holy apostle St. Peter, and of other saints. May the Almighty pardon his sins, and mine also; and may he also grant me a happy death, for this is of more importance than all our conquests and victories over the Indians.
Of the brave officers and soldiers who sailed from the island of Cuba with the fortunate and spirited captain Hernando Cortes, afterwards marquis del Valle.
Of the brave officers and soldiers who sailed from the island of Cuba with the fortunate and spirited captain Hernando Cortes, afterwards marquis del Valle.
First I have to mention the marquis Don Hernando Cortes himself, who died at Castilleja de la Cuesta, near Seville. Then come the following officers and soldiers.
Don Pedro de Alvarado, who, subsequent to the conquest of New Spain, was comendador of Santiago, chief justice and governor of Guatimala, Honduras, and of Chiapa. As we have above seen, he was accidentally killed in the province of Xalisco.
Gonzalo de Sandoval, a most distinguished officer; he was alguacil-mayor, and for a short time joint governor of New Spain with Alonso de Estrada. His majesty had been duly informed of the heroic conduct which he showed on every occasion. He died at Palos, while on his journey to court with Cortes to pay his respects to the emperor.
Christobal de Oli, a very brave officer; our quartermaster-general in the campaign of New Spain: was beheaded at Naco for having revolted with the troops which Cortes had put under his command.
When Cortes, after the conquest of New Spain, made his first appearance at court, he particularly praised these three officers, and he told his majesty that in the army with which he made the conquest of New Spain he had three officers who could be compared to the most celebrated of any age. The first he said was Pedro de Alvarado, who, besides being very courageous, was graceful in his manners, and just the man to become the father of a race of heroes. The second was Christobal de Oli, whom he called a real Hector in battle, when hewas combating man to man; but if he had known how to command, he would even have been more than a Hector. Of Gonzalo de Sandoval he said, that he united power of command, courage, and valour in such a degree as to constitute him one of the best officers that Spain ever possessed,—an officer on whom he could at all times depend, and whose words were followed up by deeds.
On this occasion Cortes likewise spoke of the other brave soldiers who fought with him in the campaigns of New Spain. It is, however, to be regretted that he omitted to mention our names with the same praise in his first despatches as he did when in his majesty's presence. In these despatches he takes all the glory and merit of our conquests to himself; and he never so much as mentions the names and heroic deeds of his officers and brave soldiers; for he only says, This I did, and thus I commanded my officers to do. For us there only remained the blank piece of paper at the end, where we had scarcely room to sign our names.
But let us continue the enumeration of our brave companions in arms.
First there was Juan Velasquez de Leon, an officer of great courage and intrepidity, who lost his life at one of the bridges on the night of sorrows.
Don Francisco de Montejo, who, subsequent to the conquest of Mexico, became chief-justice of Yucatan, and died in New Spain.
Luis Marin, a courageous and distinguished officer, died a natural death.
Pedro de Ircio, a man of middle stature; took short steps, was very passionate, and was continually talking about his heroic deeds and adventures in Spain; though among us, who never witnessed any of his valorous exploits, he was held in very little estimation. We commonly called him the second Agramant, of many words and few deeds. He was for a short time an officer in Sandoval's expedition to Tepeaquilla.
Andreas de Tapia, an officer of uncommon courage, died in Mexico.
Juan de Escalante, commandant of Vera Cruz during our first march to Mexico. He was captured by the Indians in the battle of Almeria, and died shortly after of his wounds. In this battle seven other soldiers were killed, whose names, however, I have forgotten. This was the first defeat which we sustained in New Spain.
Alonso de Avila, a courageous officer, but of a quarrelsome disposition; for which reason Cortes gave him the appointment of contador, and despatched him on business to Hispaniola, where the Hieronymite brotherhood resided, and the royal court of audience held its sittings;and in order further to appease him, Cortes presented him with a number of gold bars and valuable trinkets.
Francisco de Lugo, a natural son of a cavalier of Medina del Campo, named Alvaro de Lugo; he was also a man of uncommon bravery, and died a natural death.
Andreas de Monjaraz was for some time captain in Mexico, but always in ill health, and suffered excessively from swellings in his groins, which rendered him unfit for a soldier. He also died in his bed.
Gregorio de Monjaraz, brother to the former, was an excellent soldier, became deaf during the siege of Mexico, and died a natural death.
Diego de Ordas was present in the first campaign of Mexico, became a comendador of the order of Santiago subsequent to the conquest of New Spain, and perished in an expedition to the river Marannon.
Respecting the four brothers of Alvarado, I have given a full account of their death in a former chapter.
Juan de Xaramillo commanded a brigantine during the siege of Mexico. He married our interpretess, Doña Marina, and was a man of distinguished parts, and also died a natural death.
Christobal de Flores, a man of great courage, was killed during the expedition of Nuño de Guzman to the province of Xalisco.
Christobal de Gamboa was Cortes' equerry, and died a natural death.
Calcedo was a man of great wealth, and likewise died in his bed.
Francisco de Saucedo, of Medina de Rioseco, a man always very neatly dressed, and whom we termed the gallant. He had formerly been maestresala to the admiral of Castile, and perished on the night of sorrows.
Gonzalo Dominiguez, a man of great courage, and an excellent cavalry soldier, was taken prisoner by the Indians, and died in captivity.
Francisco de Morla, of Xerez, likewise a brave and distinguished cavalry soldier, lost his life in the night of sorrows.
There was also another Morla, of Ciudad Rodrigo, killed in an expedition to the mountains of Guatimala.
Francisco de Bonal, of Salamanca, also a man of great courage, died a natural death.
There were two brave men of the name of Lares, one a cavalry soldier, the other a crossbow-man, and both perished at the bridges on the night of sorrows.
Simon de Cuenca, Cortes' major-domo, was killed, with seven other Spaniards, by the Indians of Xicalango.
The same misfortune befel Francisco de Medina, who commanded as captain in one of our expeditions. With him fifteen other soldiers were killed, but I forget their names.
Maldonado, of Salamanca, whom we commonly called the broad; an officer who greatly distinguished himself. He died a natural death.
The two brothers Francisco and Juan Chico, of Fregenal. The first was a merchant, and died of a severe illness at St. Domingo; the second died in Indian captivity.
Francisco de Terrazas, major-domo of Cortes, greatly distinguished himself as a soldier, and died a natural death.
Christobal del Corral, our first standard-bearer in Mexico, and a man of uncommon bravery. He returned to Spain, where he died.
Antonio de Villareal, who married Isabella de Ojeda. He afterwards changed his name to Antonio Serrano de Cardona. He died a natural death.
Francisco Rodrigues Magarino, a man who greatly distinguished himself, and also died in his bed.
In the same way Francisco Flores, who was of a noble family, and lived in Guaxaca.
Alonso de Grado, a better man of business than a soldier, would not desist from importuning Cortes until he had given him Doña Isabella, Motecusuma's daughter, in marriage. He also died in his bed.
There were four soldiers of the name of Solis. One was far advanced in years, and perished on the night of sorrows. The second was a very odd kind of fellow, we called the helmet, and he ended his days in Guatimala. The third was Pedro, to whom we gave the name of Tras la Puerta, because he was always looking out behind his door to see who was passing by, without, however, any one being able to see him. The fourth de Solis was called the warrior, but sometimes we also jokingly called him the silk coat; for he said his health was always good when he wore silk. These brothers all died a natural death.
The brave soldiers Berritez and Juan Ruano both perished on the night of sorrows.
Bernardino Vasquez de Tapia, an officer of great distinction, died a natural death, leaving great wealth behind him.
Christobal de Olea, of Medina del Campo, a soldier of astonishing courage, and of whom it may be well said, that, next to God, he twice saved the life of Cortes, as has been related in former chapters.
There was also another courageous soldier among us, who had only one hand; the other had been cut off in Spain, according to a sentence which had been passed upon him. This man died in Indian captivity.
Another soldier, named Tuvilla, likewise lost his life in this way. He limped with one foot, and said he had fought at the battle of Garigliano, under the great captain.[58]
Of the two brothers Gonsalo and Juan Ximena, the first died in Indian captivity, and the latter as alcalde-mayor of Vera Cruz.
Juan Cuellar, an excellent cavalry soldier, married the beautiful Doña Anna, daughter of the king of Tezcuco, and died in his bed; so also the other Cuellar, a relative of Francisco Verdugo.
Santos Hernandez, of Soria, was rather advanced in years, and we generally called him the good old scout. He also died as the two former.
Pedro Moreno Medrano lived for a length of time in Vera Cruz, and was often one of the ordinary alcaldes. He was a man who loved strict justice, afterwards lived at Puebla, and was a brave soldier, and devotedly attached to his monarch. He also died in his bed.
Juan Limpias de Carvajal, a brave soldier, commanded one of the brigantines, and became deaf in battle. He died like the former. So also Melchior de Galvez, who settled in Guaxaca.
Roman Lopez, a man of great courage, lost an eye during the siege of Mexico, and afterwards died in Guaxaca.
Villandromo, a relative of the earl of Ribadeo, was also an excellent soldier, and died in his bed. So also Osorio, of Old Castile, a soldier of uncommon bravery, and of great weight in Vera Cruz.
The excellent soldier Rodrigo Castanneda died in Spain.
Pilar, who rendered great services, as an interpreter, died in the expedition of Nuño de Guzman against Cojohuacan.
A soldier of the name of Granado is still living in Mexico.
The excellent soldier Martin Lopez rendered the most efficient services in building the thirteen brigantines, without which we should scarcely have been able to subdue the city of Mexico. He is still living, and resides in this town.
The crossbow-men Juan de Naxara and Ojeda were both excellent soldiers, the latter of whom lost an eye in the siege of Mexico, and has settled in the country of the Zapotecs.
La Serna possessed some silver mines, but I do not know what has become of him.
Alonso Hernandez Puerto Carrero, a cavalier of most distinguished parts, was thrown into prison, as we have seen, by the bishop of Burgos, where he ended his days shortly after. He was one of the chief officers who first sailed with us from Cuba, and I should have mentioned his name long before this, if he had come sooner to my memory.
Alonso or Juan Luis was remarkably tall, and we used jokingly to call him the little child. He died in Indian captivity. So also Alonso Monroy, who was believed to be the son of a comendador of the order of Santiago.
Hernando Burguenno died a natural death, and was also an excellent soldier.
Villalobos and Juan del Rio both returned as wealthy men to Spain.
Both Tirado, of Puebla, who was a merchant, and a certain Navarette died in their beds.
Juan Rico de Alanis died in Indian captivity. Another excellent soldier was Gonsalo Hernandez de Alanis.
Francisco Martin de Vendabel and his comrade Pedro de Gallego were taken prisoners, and sacrificed to the Mexican idols. The capture of these men was entirely owing to Cortes, who, thinking to lay an ambush for the enemy, was caught in one himself.
There were three soldiers of the name of Truxillos, all men of uncommon courage, but who died in Indian captivity.
Juan Flamenco, Francisco de Barco, who commanded in Cholulla, and Juan Perez, who murdered his own wife, all three died a natural death.
Najera, the hunchback, was a remarkably droll fellow; and another hunchback, named Madrid, were courageous soldiers, and were either killed in Zacatula or Colima.
Juan de Inhiesta and Alamilla, capital crossbow-men, with Moron, an excellent musician, and the brave soldier Valera, all four died a natural death. So also the courageous Villafuerte, who married a relative of Cortes' first wife; and a certain Gutierres. Valladolid, the stout, an excellent soldier, died in Indian captivity.
Pacheco greatly distinguished himself, with Hernando de Lerma or Lerna, who was a captain. Both died peaceably in Mexico.
Suarez the elder, who killed his wife with a stone mortar, also died a natural death.
Angula, Francisco Gutierrez, and Santa Clara, all three born at the Havannah, died in Indian captivity.
Garci Caro, and Larios the younger, both died a natural death, and had settled in Mexico.
Juan Gorrez lived for some time in Guatimala, and returned to Spain a wealthy man.
Of the two brothers Ximenes, of Linguijuela in Estremadura, one died in his bed, and the other in Indian captivity. The two brothers Florin likewise ended their lives in the same manner.
Gonzalez de Najara, and his two nephews Ramirez. The first was killed among the mountains of Guatimala, and the two latter perished on the night of sorrows.
The brave soldier Amaya, and the two brothers Carmonas, of Xerez,died a natural death. So also one of the two Vargas', of Seville; the other died in Indian captivity.
The courageous soldier Polanco, of Avila settled in Guatimala, and died a natural death.
Hernan Lopez de Avila managed the properties of deceased parties, and accumulated great wealth, with which he returned to Spain.
Bernardino de Corio, Juan de Aragon, and a certain Santisteban died natural deaths.
Bartolomé Pardo and a certain Cieza died in Indian captivity.
Pedro Escudero, Juan Cermenno, and his brother, were excellent soldiers. The first two, it will he remembered, were hung by Cortes, for attempting to desert with one of the vessels to Cuba.
The pilot Gonzalo de Umbria was also an excellent soldier, who, by command of Cortes, had his feet cut off. His majesty subsequently bestowed on him an annuity of 2000 pesos or some Indian commendaries; but, for fear of Cortes, he durst not return to Spain.
Rodrigo Rangel was a very talented man, but he never distinguished himself as a soldier, and he died of severe swellings in his groins.
Francisco de Orozco suffered likewise from this disease. He had served in the Italian campaigns; he was sent in command of a small detachment to Tepeaca, while we were quartered in Mexico. I do not however know what became of him.
Mesa, who had previously served as an artilleryman in Italy, was drowned in a river subsequent to the conquest of Mexico.
Alobancho, of Old Castile, a man of great courage, died in Indian captivity.
Luis Velasquez, of Arevalo, perished in the expedition to the Honduras.
Alonso de Barrientos escaped to the Indians of Chinanta, when the Mexicans put twenty-six men and five Spanish ladies to death at Tustepec.
Almodovar, with his son and two nephews. One of the latter died in Indian captivity, the others a natural death.
The two brothers Martinez, of Fregenal, both brave soldiers, and a certain Logos, who distinguished himself, all three died in Indian captivity.
Juan del Puerto, also an excellent soldier, fell a victim to a disease of the groins.
Father Olmedo, a great theologian, a capital singer, and a man possessed of singular virtues, died a natural death.
Sancho de Avila, of Garrobillas, died in Indian captivity. He was said to have been worth 6000 pesos before he left St. Domingo, with which, however, he returned to Spain, and lost all in gambling.
Alonso Hernandez de Palo, a man advanced in years, had two of his nephews with him, one of whom was a capital crossbow-man. The two latter died a natural death, but the uncle in Indian captivity. So also Alonso de la Mesa, and Rabanal Montannes, who were both excellent soldiers.
Pedro de Guzman married Doña Francisca de Valtierra, of Valencia, with whom he went to Peru; both of whom, it was said, with their horses, a negro, and several other persons, were frozen to death.
Christobal Diaz, an excellent crossbow-man, of Colmenar de Arenas, died peaceably in his bed.
The soldier Ratamales was killed by the Indians of Tabasco. The brave soldiers Gines Nortes, Luis Alonso, and Alonso Catalan were killed in Yucatan.
Juan Siciliano settled in Mexico, where he died a natural death.
Camillas served as a drummer both in Italy and New Spain, and fell into the hands of the Indians. The same misfortune befel Hernandez, Cortes' private secretary; and Juan Diaz, who had a gutta serena on one of his eyes, and was an officer of Cortes' household.
Diego de Coria died a natural death in Mexico.
Juan Nuñez Mercado came as a very young man to New Spain, is now living at Puebla, but is blind of both eyes.
An excellent soldier was also Juan Sedenno, and he was considered the wealthiest man of our troops. This man had great weight in New Spain, and died a peaceable death.
Balnor, of Trinidad, died in Indian captivity.
Saragoza was advanced in years when he joined our ranks, and died a natural death.
Diego Martin de Ayamente had the same good fortune, and was also an excellent soldier.
Cardenas, who was a nephew of the comendador-mayor Cardenas, died in Indian captivity. The other Cardenas was a sailor, of Triana, the same who brought accusations against Cortes, and received from his majesty an annuity of 1000 pesos. He died a natural death in Mexico.
Arguello, of Leon, an excellent soldier; Vazquez, a man of uncommon strength and courage; and Arroyuelo de Olmedo, all three died in Indian captivity.
Diego Hernandez assisted in the building of the brigantines, became blind, and died a natural death.
Pizarro had a command as captain, was a relation of Cortes, and died in Indian captivity.
Alvaro Lopez, who had settled at Puebla, died in his bed. So also thesoldier Yannez, of Cordoba, who accompanied us on the expedition to the Honduras. When he returned he found his wife married to another, but he never took her back.
The excellent soldier Magallanes, a Portuguese, was a nimble pedestrian, who, with his countryman Platero, died in Indian captivity.
The four other Portuguese soldiers named Martin de Alpedrino, Juan Alvarez Rabaso, and Gonzalo Sanchez, a man of great bodily strength, and Gonzalo Rodriguez, who was the most distinguished of the four, all died a natural death.
Of two other Portuguese, named Villanuevas, both very tall men, I know nothing more than that they settled in la Puebla.
Of the three Avilas, Gaspar died a natural death; the other, who was always about the person of Andreas de Tapia, in Indian captivity; and the third settled somewhere in New Spain.
Two soldiers of the name of Vandadas, both far advanced in years, and three others of the name of Espinosa, all died in Indian captivity. One of the Espinosas we used to call, "God bless you," because he was constantly saying this; which, indeed, is an excellent sentence: he died in peace. So also the courageous soldier Pedro Poron, of Toledo. Another excellent soldier, named Villasinda, of Portillo, entered a Franciscan monastery.
Of the two brave San Juans, of whom one was called the "high-minded;" the first died in Indian captivity, and the second peaceably in his bed. So also the courageous soldier Izguierdo, of Castro Mocho. An intrepid soldier was also Caceres, of Truxillo, who was captured by the Indians. Alonso de Herrera was also a courageous warrior, who for some time commanded in the country of the Zapotecs. The same who fought the duel with Figuero during the administration of Estrada. He died among the Indians of the Marannon. Figuero was drowned on his return to Spain.
There was also a young man named Maldonado, of Medellin, who always suffered from disease of the groins; but I forget what afterwards became of him. He must not be confounded with a soldier of the same name, who married Doña Maria de Rincon. The soldier, Morales, was advanced in years, and limped with one foot, he was one of the ordinary alcaldes of Vera Cruz, where he kept good order and was considered an honest man.
Escalona, the younger, died in Indian captivity. The three soldiers Arevalo, Juan Leon, and Madrigal, who settled in Vera Cruz, never fought in any of our battles, and all three died a natural death.
Lencero, to whom the Venta belonged, known as the Venta[59]deLencero, between Vera Cruz and la Puebla, was an excellent soldier, and entered the order of the brothers of charity. His example was followed by Alonso Duran, who was near-sighted, and generally performed the office of sacristan.
Navarro, who generally kept company with Sandoval's servants, died a natural death at Vera Cruz.
Another courageous soldier, Alonso Talavera, died in Indian captivity.
Of the two Indians whom we took with us from Cuba, one died in Indian captivity, the other in his bed.
The drummer Benito Bejel, who had served in the Italian campaigns, and Alonso Romero, who settled down a rich man in Vera Cruz, both died a natural death.
Sindos de Portillo received a very lucrative commendary, which produced him considerable riches. But he relinquished all his worldly goods, sold them by public auction, distributed the money among the poor, and entered the order of the brothers of charity.
The courageous soldier Quintero likewise entered this order, possessed considerable property, and gave it all to the church.
Alonso de Aguilar was also a man of wealth, and he sold all he possessed and entered the order of the Dominicans.
Another rich soldier, named Varguillas, entered the order of the Franciscans, but subsequently left the cloister again.
Another excellent soldier, named Escalante, who was very neat in his person and an excellent cavalry soldier, also entered the Franciscan order.
Gaspar Diaz, of Old Castile, was a man of considerable wealth; but he relinquished all his property and lived a hermit in the most deserted spot among the mountains of Huexotzinco. He slept on straw and lived so severe a life of penance that he became quite enfeebled. When the bishop Don Juan de Zumarroga learnt this, he admonished him not to lead such a life of severity. However, he became so celebrated for piety that several others joined him, and he died in the space of four years, and entered into eternal glory.
Ribadeo, of Galicia, whom we termed the "winebibber," because he was given to drink, was killed in the battle of Almeria. A similar fate befel another soldier, whom, on account of his shortness, we called the little Galician.
Lerma, who once saved Cortes' life, was a courageous soldier; but on account of some misdemeanour or other he fled to the Indians, and we never after heard of him.
Pinedo was also an excellent soldier, and had formerly served underthe governor of Cuba. He was sent by Narvaez to Mexico, but was killed by the Indians on his road thither.
The excellent crossbow-man Pedro Lopez, died peaceably in his bed. Another soldier, of the same name, accompanied Alonso de Avila to Hispaniola where he died.
One of our three smiths fell into the hands of the Indians, the two others died a natural death. One was named Juan Garcia, the second Hernan Martin, the name of the third I have forgotten.
Alvaro of Galicia likewise died a natural death in Mexico. Paredes, who was an old man and has still a son living in Yucatan, died among the Indians. The same misfortune befel Gonzalo Meia Rapapelo, who said he was a nephew of that Meia, who, with a certain Canteno, committed so many robberies during the reign of king John.
Pedro de Tapia died of the gout sometime after the conquest of Mexico.
Of all our pilots, Anton de Alaminos, his son of the same name, Camacho, Manquillo, Sopuerta, Cardenas, and Gonzalo Umbria, Sopuerta alone settled in New Spain, the others, fearing the resentment of Cortes, because they had given Garay some information respecting the country, of which he obtained the appointment of governor, durst not return to this country.
Another pilot, named Lucas de Genna, died in Indian captivity. His countryman Lorenzo settled in Guaxaca, where he died, after marrying an old Portuguese woman. Enrique de Palencia was drowned in fording a river, from the weight of his arms. The carpenter Christobal de Jaen died in Indian captivity.
Ochoa, of Biscay, a man of wealth and distinction, died a natural death in Guaxaca. The brave Zamisdio was obliged to flee from Mexico because he had killed several persons there. He returned to Spain, became an officer, and was killed with several other cavaliers near Locastil.
The low jester Cervantes died among the Indians. The same fate befel Plazuela and Alonso Perez Maite, who married a beautiful Indian female of Bayamo.
Martin Vasquez, of Olmedo, died rich and respected in Mexico. So also Sebastian Rodriguez, a capital crossbow-man, and his comrade Pennalosa.
The sailor Alvaro, was killed by the Indians, during our expedition to the Honduras. He was said to be the father of thirty children, by Indian women.
Both Pedro Sabrite, and Juan Perez Malinche, whose real name was Artiaga, died a natural death.
Geronimo de Aguilar was an excellent soldier. He had been for several years in the power of the Indians; he died of a disease of the groins.
Pedro Valenciano, who lived in Mexico, and two of the three soldiers named Tarifas, died a natural death. One of these settled in Guaxaca, and married Catalina Muñoz: the second, whom we called "Tarifa of Services," because he was always boasting of the many services he rendered his majesty gratis: the third we called "Tarifa with the white hands," because he was neither fit for service nor anything else, but was always telling us old stories about Seville; he was drowned with his horse in a river of the Golfo Dulce during our expedition to the Honduras.
Pedro Sanchez Farsan, who commanded in Tezcuco during the siege of Mexico, died a natural death.
Alonso de Escobar, who prided himself on having been page to the governor of Cuba, was killed by the Indians. Another Escobar, whom we called the bachelor, was an apothecary, and dressed our wounds. He died raving mad. A third soldier of this name had a more unfortunate end. He was a remarkably courageous soldier, but was hung for having ill-used a married woman.
A soldier named Santiago, a native of Huelva, returned to Spain a wealthy man. His comrade Ponce died in Indian captivity. A soldier of the name of Mendes shared a similar fate; he was far advanced in years when he first joined our ranks.
Three of our men were killed in the battles of Tabasco; but Saldaña is the only one I remember by name.
Orteguilla the elder, and his son of the same name, who was some time page to Motecusuma, were killed by the Indians. Gaona, the brave Luis Farsan, and Morillas shared a similar fate.
Juan de Caceres died a rich man in Mexico.
Gonzalo Hurones and Ramirez the elder both died a natural death.
Rojas went to Peru.
Astorgos was an old man when he came to New Spain, and he died peaceably at Guaxaca.
The courageous soldier Valdovinos and Tostado both died among the Indians; a brother of the latter died more fortunately.